Surrender Isn’t Weakness, It’s Alignment

I want to share something a little different with you.

This feels less like a structured blog and more like me opening up my personal journal and letting you read a few pages. It may feel a little all over the place, but it’s real. It’s honest. It’s my loved ADHD mind. And it’s what I’ve been learning about “Truly Surrendering!”

Let’s be honest, SURRENDER is NOT a word most modern women get excited about. When I hear it in most contexts, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

We’ve been taught to build, to grind, to lead, to hold it all together. (And if you don’t know I am the most competitive person in my family… game night used to be brutal). We are the strong ones, the dependable ones, the ones people call when everything is falling apart. So the idea of “letting go” can feel uncomfortable, even irresponsible. (If I don’t, who will… sound familiar?)

But what if surrender isn’t about losing control?

What if it’s about finally releasing what was never yours to carry in the first place?

The Lie I’ve Been Carrying

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that control equals safety. I know I am not the only one. Although I grew up in a safe environment, I thought it was because I or someone I always trusted was in control and had my back regardless.

If I plan it right, I’ll be okay.
If I work harder, I’ll get there faster.
If I hold it all together, nothing will fall apart.

But the truth is, control often creates more anxiety than peace.

Because deep down, we know… we were never meant to manage everything.

Surrender is not giving up. (And it’s not losing)

IT’S GIVING OVER.

What Surrender to God Really Looks Like to Me

Surrendering to God isn’t passive, it’s intentional.

It’s waking up and saying, “God, I trust You more than I trust my timeline.”

It’s choosing obedience over overthinking.
Peace over pressure.
Faith over fear.

It doesn’t mean you stop showing up for your life.
It means you stop trying to play every role in your life.

You don’t have to be God, manager, fixer, healer, and provider all at once.

That weight? It was never assigned to you.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” — Proverbs 3:5–6

Surrendering to Yourself

Now here’s the part we don’t talk about enough.

Surrendering to God also requires surrendering your expectations of yourself.

The version of you that needs to have it all figured out.
The version of you that doesn’t rest unless everything is done.
The version of you that keeps pushing, even when your body and spirit are tired.

Sometimes the hardest thing to release isn’t the situation…

It’s the identity you built around being “the strong one.”

Surrender asks you to soften.

To listen.
To pause.
To admit that you don’t have to carry everything just to prove your worth.

Surrender is not where you lose yourself, it’s where you finally meet yourself without the pressure.

Sabbath, Shalom, and the Permission to Rest

I just started a new Bible study (Hey Ladies!!!), and in my very first session ( I was 2 weeks late to the game) we talked about Sabbath and Shalom.

And it hit me differently this time. I always associated it with the Jewish religion and traditions (Hey Fruhwald family, thank you for all of your teachings and unconditional love)

Sabbath isn’t just about stopping work.
It’s about trusting that God can sustain what you step away from. (Now that is a word!!!)

And Shalom, that deep, whole, complete peace, isn’t something you hustle your way into. It’s something you enter when you release striving. (I promise you are going to make it, even with this Peace)

Surrender is what makes room for both.

Because you cannot experience true rest while still trying to control everything.

You cannot experience peace while constantly performing.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10

Sabbath says, “Pause.”
Shalom says, “Be whole.”
Surrender says, “Trust Me.”

What Surrender Looks Like in Real Life

Surrender DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A BADGE OF HONOR.. it’s:

• Not forcing a relationship that isn’t aligned (They are not your “people”)
• Releasing timelines that are causing you anxiety (who said you had to have what, by when?)
• Trusting God when the next step isn’t clear (Jesus take the wheel for real)
• Resting without guilt (stop pouring from an empty or toxic cup)
• Saying no without overexplaining (No, because I said so)
• Letting things unfold instead of trying to control every outcome (It Is What It Is, and I am okay with that)

It’s quiet.
It’s powerful.
And sometimes, it’s uncomfortable.

But it’s also where your peace lives.

The Invitation

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stretched thin, or constantly “on”…

This might be your invitation. ( I feel like this was my own benediction.. lol)

Not to quit.
Not to shrink.
But to surrender.

To trust that God is already working in the spaces you’re trying to control.

To believe that rest is not a reward, it’s a requirement. (say that again to yourself, so your brain in the back row can hear you)

To understand that your worth was never tied to how much you carry. (The bag lady can’t even make it through the doors you are supposed to go thru)

This is the work I’ve been doing, not just with others, but within myself. (Yes, this “Spiritual Coach/ Deacon”, is working on all of this too).

Final Thought

Today, ask yourself: What am I holding onto that God never asked me to carry?

You don’t have to hold everything together to be held.

You don’t have to chase peace when you can choose it. (I am choosing Peace every single time)

And you don’t have to force your way through life when God is asking you to flow with Him.

Surrender isn’t the end of your strength.

It’s the beginning of your alignment.